The government could realise all the 13 targets assigned by the National Assembly this year due to favourable economic growth, said prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a regular government meeting yesterday.

Having taken official statistics and reports of ministries and sectors into account, the PM said 2017 would possibly become the first after several years that the government could achieve all the 13 targets endorsed by the National Assembly.

Cabinet members at the meeting also agreed the socio-economic performance in the January-September period is very positive.

The gross domestic product (GDP) growth has improved significantly. Especially, the rate in the third quarter reached a record high of 7.46 percent, above expectations. Overall, the GDP growth in the year to September rose by 6.41 percent, higher than the year-ago period at 5.99 percent. Therefore, the all-year target of 6.7 percent looks more feasible now.

The nine-month economic growth is mainly driven by manufacturing, services, and export and import sectors instead of being heavily dependent on natural resources.

The prime minister stressed over 5,000 administrative procedures have already been relinquished, with some ministries even cutting down 600-700.

He also highlighted some positive outcomes in the country’s socio-economic performance in the nine-month period. The macro-economy remained stable while the inflation and core inflation rates only rose by 1.83 percent and 1.45 percent respectively.

The major balances of the economy were sustainable. Budget revenue have picked up 14 percent, and the credit increased by around 12 percent to date.

Notably, the VN Index on the stock market reached 800 points, the highest since 2008 while the trade deficit has reduced to only some $442 million.

Direct and indirect foreign investments amounted to $25.5 billion in the nine months, increasing by 34.3 percent year-on-year. Especially, the country had around 94,000 startups.

According to the government leader, these results are owing to the drastic shift of the growth model which attaches importance to the quality and competitiveness of the economy. Besides, the government has made every effort to create a favourable business and investment environment.

Notably, he said, there has been innovation in working methods, removing obstacles to production and trade activities.

“If we are complacent about the results in the nine months but neglect the heavy task in the fourth quarter, we still have the possibility to fail targets, especially the GDP growth. In an effort to achieve the all-year growth of 6.7 percent, the fourth quarter GDP should rise by 7.4-7.5 percent this is not an easy figure,” he warned.